Grace raises €5.9 million seed to offer insurance to luxury goods

Tech Crunch - Apr 3rd, 2025

Grace, a company specializing in insurance for luxury goods, has secured a $6.4 million (€5.9 million) seed round led by FinTechCollective and Speedinvest. The company collaborates with luxury brands to offer protection for consumer goods, ensuring claims for stolen or damaged items can be processed through their app. Additionally, the app aids brands in fraud detection, claim processing, and logistics. Grace is already partnering with Chubb for underwriting and is working with an undisclosed major luxury brand in Europe. Co-founders Lou Dana, Quentin Roy, and Martin Lenweiter founded the company to bridge the gap in service levels for luxury goods, particularly when consumers face issues post-purchase.

The recent funding round also saw participation from Kima, BPI France, and FirstMinuteCapital. Grace aims to leverage the funds to expand across Europe and enhance its product engineering team, with a goal to insure over 200,000 luxury items by year-end. Despite challenges in getting luxury houses to adopt new technologies, Grace positions itself uniquely at the intersection of embedded insurance, luxury services, and post-purchase protection. This distinguishes it from competitors like Zing Cover, as it offers both consumer protection and brand elevation to luxury retailers, addressing the rising issue of stolen luxury goods and the associated costs for fashion houses.

Seed Funding Grace Fin Tech Collective Speedinvest Luxury Goods Insurance Lou Dana Quentin Roy Martin Lenweiter Chubb European Luxury Market

Story submitted by Fairstory

RATING

6.8

Fair Story

Consider it well-founded

The article provides a clear and timely overview of Grace's recent funding round and its business model in the luxury goods insurance market. It effectively communicates the company's innovative approach and future ambitions. However, the article would benefit from greater transparency and source diversity to enhance its credibility and balance. While the story is engaging for specific audiences, such as those in the fintech and luxury sectors, it lacks broader public appeal and potential for controversy. Overall, the article is informative and well-structured but could be strengthened by incorporating more detailed data and external perspectives.

Accuracy

The story presents several factual claims that are generally accurate, such as the $6.4 million (€5.9 million) seed round led by FinTechCollective and Speedinvest. This claim is consistent with available data on Grace's funding. The article correctly identifies the company founders and outlines the business model of providing insurance for luxury goods, which aligns with publicly available information. However, the article's claim about working with at least one major luxury brand in Europe lacks specificity, as the brand is not named, which makes verification challenging. Additionally, the increase in stolen luxury goods and its impact on fashion houses is mentioned without specific data or sources, which could affect the precision of these claims.

Balance

The article primarily focuses on the positive aspects of Grace's business, such as its innovative insurance model and successful funding round. It provides insights from company representatives, which offers a perspective from the company's viewpoint. However, the article lacks input from external experts or industry analysts who could provide a more balanced view of the challenges and competition in the luxury insurance market. The mention of a competitor, Zing Cover, is brief and does not explore the competitive landscape in depth. Overall, the article could benefit from a wider range of perspectives to give a more balanced view of the industry and the company's position within it.

Clarity

The article is well-structured and clearly communicates the main points, such as the funding details and the company's business model. The language is straightforward and avoids technical jargon, making it accessible to a general audience. The flow of information is logical, with the article moving from the funding announcement to the company's operations and future plans. However, the lack of specific data or examples in some areas, such as the impact of stolen luxury goods, could be clarified to enhance reader comprehension.

Source quality

The article relies heavily on statements from Grace's co-founders, which are credible given their direct involvement with the company. However, the article does not reference independent sources or industry experts to corroborate the claims made by the company representatives. The lack of external validation or quantitative data to support claims about market trends, such as the tripling of stolen luxury goods, affects the reliability of the reporting. Including insights from financial analysts, luxury brand representatives, or market researchers could enhance the credibility of the article.

Transparency

The article provides some transparency regarding the company's funding and business model, but it lacks detailed disclosure on the methodology behind certain claims, such as the increase in stolen luxury goods. The absence of specific data or sources for these claims limits the reader's ability to fully understand the basis of the article's assertions. Additionally, the article does not disclose any potential conflicts of interest, such as relationships between the journalists and the company or its investors, which is important for maintaining transparency and impartiality.